Bengals clinch late Monday Night Football win after Cowboys botch blocked punt

Joe Burrow threw a go-ahead 40-yard touchdown pass to Ja’Marr Chase after Dallas botched a blocked punt to give the ball back to Cincinnati in the final two minutes, and the Bengals defeated the Cowboys 27-20 on Monday night.

The Cowboys were about to get the ball back with the score tied with less than two minutes to play when Nick Vigil blocked a kick from Cincinnati’s Ryan Rehkow.

Dallas cornerback Amani Oruwariye tried to field the bouncing ball, even though leaving it alone would have given the Cowboys possession. But Oruwariye couldn’t hold on to the ball, and the Bengals’ Maema Njongmeta recovered at the Cincinnati 43-yard line with 1:53 left. Three plays later, Burrow threw to Chase, who eluded DaRon Bland and ran untouched into the end zone for the lead with 1:01 to go.

The winning TD secured a fourth straight game of at least 300 yards passing and three touchdowns for Burrow, who finished with 369 and three scores, two ahead of Chase.

Monday’s win was the first in that span for the Bengals (5-8) as they ended a three-game losing streak. Chase, the NFL leader in receiving yards and touchdowns, had 177 yards and is up to 15 touchdowns this season.

Cooper Rush threw two TD passes and Rico Dowdle rushed for a career-high 131 yards as the Cowboys (5-8) saw the end of a modest two-game winning streak after losing five straight. The Bengals ended a five-game losing streak against the Cowboys with their first win in the series since 2004.

The Cowboys lost linebacker DeMarvion Overshown to a right knee injury in the fourth quarter. It came in the first game for Dallas since his spectacular 23-yard interception return for a touchdown in a 27-20 victory over the New York Giants on Thanksgiving.

Overshown was second on the team in sacks, passing star Micah Parsons entering the game in Cincinnati. The former Texas standout had five to Parsons’ 6.5.